Id Theft

You can be dead and still be a victim in this world. A new report by ID Analytics find that thieves target the dead, using their Social Security numbers to get credit cards, cellphones and other services. The company says it compared the names, Social Security numbers and birth date on 100 million credit applications in the first quarter of last year with Social Security's Death Master File to find out if applicants were using the information of the dead. The findings: -     132,000 applications had some deliberate manipulations of Social Security numbers -     66,000 were straight up-and-up ID theft of the dead -   the person had died months before the application was made.

A federal judge on Monday sentenced a Baltimore County man to 11 years in prison and ordered him to pay close to $200,000 in restitution to victims of a wire fraud and identity theft scheme that victimized Johns Hopkins doctors, among some 250 others, the U.S. Justice Department said. Derrick Hill, 53, of Woodlawn, previously pleaded guilty to the charges, along with co-conspirators Renee Cabell, 51, John Coffey, 43, and Tawney King, 46. Authorities said Hill and the other defendants stole identities, then cashed counterfeit checks and rented apartments in the names of victims.

D eborah Tewey unwillingly joined a large and fast-growing club: victims of identity fraud. The Baltimore County elementary school teacher discovered this when checking her bank account online before heading out on a shopping trip this month. The $700 she had in the account had been cleaned out. At that point, Tewey began a two-week odyssey of alerting her card issuer, merchants and the police that a stranger had used her debit card. And what she found is that even though identity theft is now a well-known problem, some companies seem to take it more seriously than others.

The IRS wants to show taxpayers it is taking identity theft seriously. Today, the agency announced it conducted a 32-state sweep in recent weeks that targeted 389 identity theft suspects and led to 734 enforcement actions - from complaints to indictments and arrests - in January. It had help from the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorneys' offices. The IRS posted a map of its crackdown, which includes several cases in Maryland. According to the IRS, this includes an indictment in January of two brothers who allegedly filed fake returns from April 2007 to January 2012, collecting refunds ranging from about $1,500 to $4,950.

A federal judge on Monday sentenced a Baltimore County man to 11 years in prison and ordered him to pay close to $200,000 in restitution to victims of a wire fraud and identity theft scheme that victimized Johns Hopkins doctors, among some 250 others, the U.S. Justice Department said. Derrick Hill, 53, of Woodlawn, previously pleaded guilty to the charges, along with co-conspirators Renee Cabell, 51, John Coffey, 43, and Tawney King, 46. Authorities said Hill and the other defendants stole identities, then cashed counterfeit checks and rented apartments in the names of victims.

Consumers are scared into spending money unnecessarily every day. The newest bogeyman is identity theft. That's not to suggest identity theft isn't a serious problem for some people. And part of being a smart consumer is protecting your personal information so it's not misused. But the attention identity theft receives seems overblown: Just 1.5 percent of Americans annually fell victim to thieves opening accounts fraudulently, according to a report by the Federal Trade Commission. The fear generated by incessant discussion of identity theft, however, can make people susceptible to sales pitches for ID theft products and services.

MARILYN Thompson of Annapolis figured her problems were over two years ago once the credit-card companies were notified that her wallet had been stolen and she was issued new plastic. But six months later, a credit-monitoring service warned her of some unusual activity on her credit report. That tipped Thompson off that someone had stolen her identity and racked up bills in her name. The lobbyist for a Washington law firm said the $80 a year she pays American Express to monitor her reports with the three major credit agencies monthly is worth the price.

Two new state laws kick in soon, and Maryland consumers are the winners. One gives you a powerful tool - at very little cost - to fight identity theft. The other will prevent potentially thousands of young adults from suddenly being dropped from their parents' health insurance once they graduate from college. These are two big but very different consumer issues. Let's take them one at a time. First, the identity-theft weapon: the ability to put a "security freeze" on your credit report.

Consumers will get a host of new protections against identity thieves and uncaring companies that damage their credit under new legislation signed by President Bush yesterday. The new law will make it easier to know what your creditors are saying about you, fix errors, and opt out of marketing promotions from companies sharing information about you. "Consumers will get a number of benefits they don't now have and substantially added protections," said Democrat Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes of Maryland.

These days, homeowners' insurance policies cover more than your house - they can help you recover your identity. Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the nation - 9.91 million victims in 2003, according to the Federal Trade Commission. That has prompted some insurance companies to create a policy to help customers untangle the mess created when they have been fraudulently impersonated. St. Paul Travelers claims to have been the first company to offer ID theft coverage in 1999, but the idea has not taken the world by storm.

You can be dead and still be a victim in this world. A new report by ID Analytics find that thieves target the dead, using their Social Security numbers to get credit cards, cellphones and other services. The company says it compared the names, Social Security numbers and birth date on 100 million credit applications in the first quarter of last year with Social Security's Death Master File to find out if applicants were using the information of the dead. The findings: -     132,000 applications had some deliberate manipulations of Social Security numbers -     66,000 were straight up-and-up ID theft of the dead -   the person had died months before the application was made.

If your identity is stolen, there's a good chance you know the thief. One out of seven cases of identity theft last year involved a relative, roommate, co-worker or some other acquaintance, according to an annual survey by California-based Javelin Strategy & Research. While ID theft overall fell 28 percent last year, "friendly fraud" experienced a slight increase, Javelin reports. With friends like these, you might rightly ask, who needs criminals? "It's something that people have to be aware of," says Anne Wallace, president of the Identity Theft Assistance Center, a nonprofit organization that helps victims and is supported by the financial services industry.

D eborah Tewey unwillingly joined a large and fast-growing club: victims of identity fraud. The Baltimore County elementary school teacher discovered this when checking her bank account online before heading out on a shopping trip this month. The $700 she had in the account had been cleaned out. At that point, Tewey began a two-week odyssey of alerting her card issuer, merchants and the police that a stranger had used her debit card. And what she found is that even though identity theft is now a well-known problem, some companies seem to take it more seriously than others.

Baltimore police are investigating a security breach at Mercy Medical Center that left an undisclosed number of patient records open to possible identity theft, according to the Maryland attorney general's office. The hospital's vice president for corporate compliance sent a letter to the affected former patients on Monday, saying that a former employee might have gained access to patient records in order to apply for credit cards and loans. A spokesman for the attorney general's office said he was unsure how many patients received letters.

Giant increasing items on sale, changes value card Giant Food said Thursday it will double the number of items it puts on sale each week. The region's largest grocer said it is part of a new marketing initiative to give cash-strapped consumers better bargains. The grocer will also add shelf tags and signs in its stores. It also redesigned its value card and is giving users of the card a one-time 5 percent off their purchase when they use the new card. - Andrea K. Walker GDP declines 1% in 2Q, better than expected WASHINGTON - The economy shrank at an annual rate of 1 percent in the spring, a better-than-expected showing and more evidence that the recession is drawing to a close.

DALLAS - When someone steals your identity, obtains loans in your name and then stiffs the lenders, the effects on your credit report can be devastating. It can take weeks, months or sometimes years - as well as plenty of frustration - to restore your good name. But there's another kind of identity theft that not only can ruin your financial health - it can also endanger your life: medical identity theft. Medical ID theft occurs when a thief uses someone's personal information - such as health insurance information - without the individual's consent to obtain medical services or goods, or to make false claims for medical services or goods.

If your identity is stolen, there's a good chance you know the thief. One out of seven cases of identity theft last year involved a relative, roommate, co-worker or some other acquaintance, according to an annual survey by California-based Javelin Strategy & Research. While ID theft overall fell 28 percent last year, "friendly fraud" experienced a slight increase, Javelin reports. With friends like these, you might rightly ask, who needs criminals? "It's something that people have to be aware of," says Anne Wallace, president of the Identity Theft Assistance Center, a nonprofit organization that helps victims and is supported by the financial services industry.

By now, we've all heard about identity theft. But some of us are more vulnerable to the crime than others. Of those age 18 and older, people ages 25 to 34 are the most at risk of having personal information compromised, according to Javelin Strategy and Research's 2006 Identity Fraud Survey.. Although previous studies have identified this phenomenon, Javelin's is one of the largest ID theft surveys to date. Why are young adults more at risk? Javelin reasons that a mobile lifestyle creates more opportunity for identity theft.

A 22-year-old Baltimore woman was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison followed by one year of home detention for stealing people's identities and using the information to run up credit card bills in excess of $311,000, the Maryland U.S. attorney's office said. Marquita Lane also will have to serve three years of supervised probation and pay restitution to her employer, Home Depot, several stores and CitiBank USA, according to prosecutors. She pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and bank fraud charges in February.

Add identity theft to the long list of things parents should discuss and educate their teens about, the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland says. Parents should teach their children to question anyone who asks for their Social Security number, credit card number or other personal data. Parents should: Question schools, athletic teams and pediatric offices on why they routinely ask for Social Security numbers. If you don't like the answer, don't give them the information. Not carry your child's Social Security card in your wallets or allow your kids to do so. Discuss with your teen how to safeguard checks and account numbers when they open bank accounts or apply for credit cards.